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Cathy Rickmon (left) and Martha Bullock (right) sit on the Baudin St. porch where their sons Orlando “Lanny” Rickmon and Desmond O’Neal Bell were murdered on April 23, 2013. “Losing a child is like losing half a heart,” said Rickmon. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Margaret Washington sits in her daughter Marguerite LaJoy Washington’s room, while holding LaJoy’s McMain graduation gown and medal for Physics. LaJoy was shot and killed while visiting her new boyfriend’s home just months after graduating from high school. “She loved stuffed animals,” said Washington while sitting in her daughter’s pink room. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Marguerite LaJoy Washington came to her adoptive mother Margaret Washington at 3 months old, and from the beginning she was the family’s princess.

“She was my shadow,” said Washington, a former nursing instructor. “She grew up in my church, in my sorority, at Charity school of nursing, with my nursing alumni group. Wherever I was, she was there. It allowed her to be exposed to positive things, positive values and allowed her to get maturity much earlier then the average child.”Continue reading »

Ann Dimes stands where she last saw her son Danny Joseph Robert, remembering how it felt to hug him goodbye. Minutes after saying goodnight to her son, he was shot seven times in the face just blocks from where they had just been. “My life changed from that minute to this moment, to try to do the right thing toward my son, tell his story through all the hurt and pain. It came happen to any mother just like this,” said Dimes. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

On a May evening in 2011, Ann Dimes stood outside a Ninth Ward home with her 26-year-old son, Danny Joseph Roberts. Roberts had been through a bout with a kidney stone, and Dimes, a surgical technician, wanted to check on him.

Danny, a longshoreman since the age of 16 years old, had just gotten a settlement check from the BP oil spill and felt on top of the world in spite of his medical problems. His mother reminded him he needed to keep his car door locked, but he brushed her concerns off by telling her to give him a hug. Then his phone rang.

A voice on the other end of the line – one Dimes has never identified, but will never forget overhearing – asked to borrow a shirt to wear to the club. Danny told his mother he loved her and would see her the next day, so she turned around, closed the door and went inside.

Minutes later, Dimes’ own phone began ringing – Danny was dead, shot seven times in the face just blocks from where they had last hugged goodbye.

“I am not the same person,” Dimes said. “It haunts me all the time. I just can’t understand the purpose of killing him that way.”Continue reading »

When 26-year-old Christopher Guilbeau Jr. was shot on Elysian Fields Avenue in 2007, he survived but was stricken blind. When he suddenly died from his injuries in 2009, it was his mother’s life that plunged into darkness.

“The people who are doing the murdering are not just hurting the mothers and the fathers of the child they are hurting,” Lynn James said. “They are hurting generations of people. They are hurting those young men’s children and cousins and nephews and grandparents. You are hurting a whole world of people who you will never know because of something senseless.”Continue reading »

The casket of 11-year-old Arabian Gayles is carried into the back of a hearse at the Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ on Willow St. Saturday afternoon. Gayles was shot multiple times, including in the head, after gunmen opened fire on a house in the 1300 block of General Ogden Street on Labor Day Weekend. Two others were shot, including her 11-year-old cousin, but they both survived. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Ashley Moffet, mother of Arabian Gayles, arrives at the Prayer Tower Church of God in Christ for her daughter’s funeral Saturday morning. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

“I was there for her first steps. It hurts so much. The hurt won’t stop. But she was a bundle of joy. She wouldn’t want to see us cry,” said Keion Reed, while speaking at the funeral of his 1 year-old daughter Londyn Samuels at New Hope Baptist Church Saturday morning. Samuels was shot to death in her babysitter’s arms on Saratoga Street on Thursday, August 29, 2013. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

The funeral for Londyn Samuels, the 1-year-old who was shot to death last week while in her babysitter’s arms, was held Saturday morning at New Hope Baptist Church on LaSalle Street.

Andrea Samuels (far right), mother of Londyn Samuels, cries as she looks at her daughter in her casket. “She was extraordinary,” said Samuels about her daughter. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Reginald Cannon serves a fish entree to a customer at Cafe Reconcile’s Central City facility on Thursday afternoon. Cafe Reconcile works to resolve the deeply ingrained social ills of poverty, violence, and neglect by providing at-risk young people, ages 16 to 22, with the skills and confidence necessary to get and retain career-track jobs in New Orleans thriving hospitality sector. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

On Thursday morning, Cafe Reconcile celebrated the completion of the renovations and expansion of its building on Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard with a dedication and blessing ceremony, attended by the top city officials, the program’s founders, and the at-risk young people who work there.

Ryan Dalton, a 2009 graduate of the Cafe Reconcile job training program, speaks at the building dedication and blessing. Dalton was shot three times his first week in the Cafe Reconcile job training program. Today he serves on the Mayor’s team as the NOLA FOR LIFE Midnight Basketball coordinator for the City of New Orleans. “Invest in a young person and see what their potential is,” said Dalton. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Family and friends of Arabian Gayles comfort each other on General Ogden Street in west Carrollton Tuesday night. Gayles was killed by gunfire on the house, while she was sleeping. The shooting wounded two others in the house. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

After the second death of a New Orleans child by stray gunfire in less than a week, the vigil for 11-year-old Arabian Gayles in west Carrollton on Tuesday was full of strong emotions from hundreds of attendees.

Ashley Moffet, the mother of Arabian Gayles, is comforted as she cries for her daughter during a community vigil on General Ogden Tuesday night. (Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)

Our Young Adult Program consists of a truly unique, one-of-a-kind curriculum that offers a hands-on experience in a variety of working studios. Young artists, ages 9 to 17, learn a wide array of innovative techniques and skills, utilizing a combination of the various working artist studios.

Our Summer Art Workshop begins June 4th – June 22nd, with a 3-week session. This session includes full instruction in glassblowing as well as metal sculpture, stained glass, illuminated sculpture, glass torchworking & printmaking. Each student designs and executes projects that generally take 3 weeks to complete. With the close guidance of master faculty, multimedia projects are encouraged.

AFTER THE THREE WEEK SESSION, weekly sessions start on Monday, June 25th and continue through Friday, August 17th. STUDENTS CAN SIGN UP FOR ONE OR MORE WEEKS. They do not have to be consecutive. Studios included in the weekly sessions are: metal sculpture, glass torchworking, stained glass, illuminated sculpture, copper enameling and printmaking. Technically and artistic skills will advance with each week of attendance.

Upon completion of the workshop, young adults are encouraged to continue studying in one or more studios, as well as to attend future art workshops, such as our young adult program during winter break or on Saturdays as their school schedule permits.

— Click to find out more and to view photos of youth working at New Orleans School of GlassWorks & Printmaking Studio —

Mardi Gras Indians make their way down Simon Bolivar Ave. during the Super Sunday parade in Central City. The Mardi Gras Indians parade the Sunday closest to St. Joseph’s Day. (Photos by Sabree Hill, UptownMessenger.com)Continue reading »

Join our event chairs Mandi Frischhertz and Carol Starr to celebrate 35 years of the Julia Jump! One of our city’s oldest and best fundraisers, the Jump is a great party with delicious New Orleans food, music for all generations, and the best silent auction in town.

Be there as Tracey’s Irish Channel Bar celebrates its annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration on Saturday, March 17, 2012. The Irish Channel Annual Block Party begins at 11:00am. Tracey’s will serve up its world famous roast beef poor boys along with cabbage and corned beef and plenty more goodies from the kitchen.

COPS 2 is a “grass roots” volunteer organization with a mission of helping to support the 2nd District NOPD. We connect the individuals and businesses in the Uptown area with the 2nd District through memberships and donations to help boost technology, provide training and help with needed supplies not otherwise provided by the City. We also work closely with the 2nd District Commander to recognize excellence through Awards and various celebratory events.

After 6 years and 3 months since Hurricane Katrina, Cleanerama, at 3637-39 South Carrollton Avenue, New Orleans, has now, finally, re-opened as of December 1, 2011, about two (2) months ago.

This location, two (2) buildings down from the Five Happiness Restaurant and right next to Xavier University (and hopefully, the future Costco), is the main plant where all the dry cleaning, laundry and alteration work “actually” gets done.

Most of us have common sense know-how when it comes to keeping ourselves in one piece: Get adequate rest, drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen and/ or a hat, keep an eye on your intake of sugar, fried foods, alcohol, cigarette smoke and so on. During Carnival season, though, our common sense often takes a backseat to the endless stream of parties, parades and the quest for perfect glittery false eyelashes (or maybe that’s just me).

Over the years of observing the annual cases of post-Mardi Gras colds here at Common Ground Health Clinic, the team of herbalists and health educators have put together some tips for keeping yourself well during the frenzied pace of Carnival, as well as taking care of that cold if you do end up afflicted.

Audubon Charter School to reinstate French prekindergarten for 3-year-olds.

Timely applications deadline for all grades extended through Feb. 15th.

Audubon Charter School, an A+ school and the only Orleans public school accredited by the French National Government and an initiate member of the American Montessori Society, was recently approved to reinstate its French pre-K3 program (prekindergarten for 3 year olds) for the school year 2012-13.

Applications are available at the school website: www.auduboncharter.com or call (504) 324-7110 for information.

As a result, Audubon has extended its timely application deadline for all grades pre-K3 through 8 for both its French and Montessori programs to February 15, 2012 in order for applicants to have sufficient time to apply.